Abkhaz Orthodox Faction Calls for Quick Autocephaly, Use of Abkhaz

Abkhazian Orthodox remain divided between two pro-autocephaly factions, one hoping for the help of the Moscow Patriarchate in negotiating autocephaly for the Church of Abkhazia from the Georgian Orthodox Church and the other pressing more strongly for immediate autocephaly and the wider use of the Abkhaz language in the divine services. More here.

Georgian Orthodox Patriarch Blames Outside Forces for Division with Abkhazia

Commenting on the 19th anniversary of the Abkhazian war for independence, Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II (Gudushauri-Shiolashvili) of the Georgian Orthodox Church has said that Georgians and Abkhaz need one another and that it is outside forces that are trying to ruin the "good relations" between the Georgian and Abkhaz nations, not the tide of Georgian nationalism that has swept the country since the collapse of the Soviet Union. More (in Greek) here.

Abkhazian President Returns from Turkey

President Sergei U. Bagapsh of Abkhazia has completed his first state visit to Turkey. During the visit Bagapsh sought to improve economic relations between the two countries and also called on the Abkhaz living in Turkey to return to their homeland to assist in its development. (Roughly 500,000 Abkhaz live in Turkey, a number nearly three times the size of Abkhazia's estimated current population.) More here.